La Yuma

2010. Nicaragua/France/Spain. Directed and co-written by Florence Jaugey. With Alma Blanco, Gabriel Benavides, Rigoberto Mayorga. La Yuma, the first fiction feature film to emerge from Nicaragua in 20 years, vividly depicts the life of a strong-willed and rebellious 18-year-old girl. Trapped in a gang she has outgrown, she dreams of becoming a boxer and longs for independence. In the ring, she finds release for the pent-up aggression and anger from life in the slums of Managua, a loveless family life, and friends who waste their lives on petty crime. Things take a turn for the better when a famous boxing teacher takes her under his wing, and she meets Ernesto, a journalism student who lives a protected life far from the violence of Managua's streets. In spite of their differences, they feel an affinity through their shared desire to find a place for themselves in the world, but their love leads to dangerous tension with Yuma’s jealous ex-boyfriend. Blanco's passionate portrayal of Yuma make this somewhat familiar "female Rocky" fresh and appealing, and Jaigey’s feel for the fraught atmosphere of the slums and the daily rituals of teenagers on the edge makes for a vivid, engaging first film. In Spanish; English subtitles. 91 min.

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